dat's sick

Confusing, the wording is different from different sources, some indicating you can't be OLDER than 26, others like yours saying you can't be AT LEAST 26. Nvm though, he's obviously not eligible.

I see, I thought that counted as the start of the new season. The age cutoff is 27 though, so if Brunner had his birthday on Sept 16th he would be eligible.

"players are eligible only if they were 26 years old or younger by Sept. 15 of their rookie season" From NHL.com. I guess they are looking at it as being Sept 15th of this YEAR instead of Sept 15th of this SEASON, since this season got delayed? That's the only way I can make sense of it. Obviously there is some confusion about it too since I've seen Brunner have low odds at betting sites for the Calder.

Bob McKenzie actually said on twitter Brunner is too old, I still think that conflicts with the wording of the official rule but seems it's settled. All hopes go to Smith, or possibly Nyquist if he gets called up quickly.

I really don't see why he shouldn't be. It's 26 or younger on Sept 15th on the rookie season, which should be Sept 15th 2012 when Brunner was, as he still is, 26.Sounds like LeBrun misunderstood the rule?

Brunner is eligible for it if I'm looking at the rule correctly. A player can be no older than 26 by September of their rookie season. Difficult calder race to predict, but I think Tarasenko, Silfverberg and hopefully both Smith and Brunner will be in the discussion. Brunner really should be, considering his linemates. Otherwise chances are he's a bust.

I've always been a believer that Kronwall can become one of the best d-men in the league. He has all the tools. And at times he has been that guy, the offensively skilled, hard-hitting and defensively sound guy. His major problem as I see it has been consistency, and part of that has been due to injuries. With Lids gone he needs to find that high-level of consistent play and hopefully stay healthy. Overall I think our D will do the job this year. I have faith in Smith, I think Ericsson has started to become very solid, and all we need is for either Colo or Kindl to not completely suck ass and we're fine, or atleast good enough.

Other than 2 weak goals that can be blamed on rust, I thought Howie looked real good actually. Gus on the other hand was a bit shaky, he got lucky a couple of times during the game. Fun game all in all.

Tatar nice play to set up Paetsch for the goal. 4-2 Red.

Nyquist out there with Brunner and Z. Probably means nothing, but still.

Indeed. He's fast, and smooth. Seems to be making really quick, and good, decisions with the puck. So looking forward to seeing what happens when you add that guy Datsyuk to the line.

Brunner really turned Kindl inside out on that play that lead to the PP. Top line will look awesome with Dats back, sadly Mursak is not looking too good so far.

Brunner looking pretty good! It's not free but hockeystreams.com has the game.

The teams will be mixed up, both teams having some NHL and AHL lines/d-pairs. Howard will bein goal and Gus in the other, doesn't seem like Mrazek will play. Which is fine, Howie and Gus are the ones who really need to get up to speed. I really, really hope some awesome human being streams this.

Any other impressions? Dying to hear how Brunner looks on small rinks for example.. The game against Grand Rapids will be fun.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="irishock" data-cid="2339476" data-time="1357967124"><p> Only the Wings have been leaked so not sure. Knowing the NHL it'll probably be s***sburgh<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Huh, I got the 12 sets from the same source but I counted myself and it was 10 sets. <br /> <br /> <br /> Edit: I counted 12 sets. 24 games in total.</p></blockquote> I blame being tired and looking on my phone. I counted again and you're right, 12 sets. Will be interesting to see how it is for other teams, gotta be hell to make the schedules.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="irishock" data-cid="2339456" data-time="1357963849"><p><br /> <a href='<a href='http://www.detroithockey.net/history/schedule/2013.php'>http://www.detroithockey.net/history/schedule/2013.php</a>'><a href='http://www.detroithockey.net/history/schedule/2013.php'>http://www.detroithockey.net/history/schedule/2013.php</a></a><br /><br /> <br /><br /> 12 sets of back-to-backs, season ends on Apr. 27th, 4 sunday 12:30 JLA games on NBC, 4 western road trips.</p></blockquote><br /> <br /> <br /> You mean 6 sets of back-to-backs, right? That's what I counted. Doesn't seem too bad all things considered. edit: actually 7, missed the march-april one.

Bruns Of Steel FrontBrunner The Bruns ..I got nothing.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="puckbags" data-cid="2339345" data-time="1357939652"><p> We are also talking about the Penguins who arguably have the 2 best players in the world right now whether you like them or not. </p></blockquote> Yeah they'll always be high in rankings like these because of those two guys. I definitely feel like many hockey 'experts' are forgetting/ignoring that the Pens supporting crew is at best mediocre, their defense is bad and goaltending questionable. There's also their awful PP, and the issue of whether Crosby can take a hit without being out for the season. I don't see them as a contender.

Hm, maybe you're right. I hope not though.

Tell me more about how good or bad the Wings defense is. Last I checked this defense squad had not played a single game together yet. On paper it might look like a less than stellar defensive group, but defense also has to do with things like chemistry and coaching, team effort, goaltending. Also odds depend on other things than simply rosters, I believe if a lot of people bet on the Wings that lowers their odds.

One of the few good things to come out of this lockout may have been Zetterberg and Brunner getting some time to build chemistry. Who knows how it will translate to the NHL, but now we know Z and him work well together and Babs will probably give them some time to get going even if they don't tear it up in the first few games, a patience he might not have had without knowing what we know now.

I knew what it was despite the thread title Damn I've missed seeing Pavel making goalies look silly. Here are two other awesome goals in his time over there:

Noooo! Damn, really was hoping we'd be able to get him through a trade or next offseasons. He's definitely a key player for that organization so I'm not surprised they wanted to lock him up.

Have you seen Ryan a lot? I've heard a lot of opinions on Ryan calling him lazy and streaky, does nothing when he's not scoring goals. Remind you of someone? Besides, Anaheim will want more than just Flip. A lot more. In a straight up comparison, Ryan beats Franzen in most regards even though it's not by a lot. But can we improve our team by trading for Ryan? Doubtful.